Williams, Gareth; Maynard, Jeffrey

Mapping climate resilience and vulnerability for the coral reefs of Guam to aid inprioritizing restoration sites

2021

SymbioSeas

"Climate vulnerability information is rarely available to reef and fisheries managers as spatial data layers that can be included in management planning and decision-making. Climate vulnerability can be a useful proxy for near and long-term likelihood coral transplants will survive. Since climate vulnerability information is rarely available, the process of targeting reef restoration efforts almost never accounts for climate vulnerability. Our team is generating information on climate change, resilience, and human impacts, and then combining these inputs to assess climate vulnerability in Guam. Site-level results will be interpolated to produce spatially continuous estimates of climate vulnerability for all coral reef habitat in Guam. Reef areas will be prioritized with resource managers and reef stakeholders in Guam by discussing and combining these datasets: coral reef climate vulnerability, an aggregate index for reef condition, social vulnerability information, and local knowledge of reef accessibility, economic and cultural value, and permitting regulations. The process of prioritizing areas for restoration proposed here ensures strategic planning precedes outplanting. This is a highly collaborative project inclusive of the agencies involved in coral reef management in Guam."

coral reef, climate change, coral reef resilience, coral reef climate vulnerability, Guam

NOS

OCM

FY2021; CRCP Project ID 31224; Project Title: FY19 - Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants; Principal Investigator: Liz Fairey; Grant NA19NOS4820120.

NA19NOS4820120